Witte Wheat Ale | Brewery Ommegang

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Witte is our version of the classic Belgian wit or "white" ale. Witte, which is actually Flemish for white, is brewed with malted and unmalted wheat, orange peel, and coriander - offering a refreshing style that showcases the Belgian talent for brewing full-flavored ales that are also light and balanced. It is pale straw in color, slightly hazy from the yeast, and topped with a huge white, fluffy head.

Witte is pleasantly light on the tongue, balanced between malt and wheat sweetness. Hops and spice with a subtle clove note backed by flavors of lemon and sweet orange give way to a dry, crisp, refreshing finish.

Reviews by jwc215:

Pours a hazy (rather than cloudy) yellow with a thin white head that soon becomes a thin, lasting cover.

The smell is of coriander, orange peel and a hint of wheat grain.

Coriander and a thin orange peel meet the nose. There is a noticeable, but not strong, medicinal touch. A spritzy carbonation seems to mask other spices. It is on the thin side of medium. Any thinner and it would fall apart. This could use more spiced yeast to give it some body and fuller flavor. Still in all, what is there is not too bad, for the most part. However, the more the bottle progressed, the more of a tart character became prominent, and this did not help either.

Carbonated wateriness washed out some of the flavors, which were on the thin side to begin with. It did have a somewhat refreshing quality which helped, but did not completely save it.

Overall, it's decent enough, but nothing about it made it particularly memorable. A bit disappointing.

More User Reviews:

Light hazy yellow with big white head that didn't stay long but draped some lace on the glass all the way down. Wheat and yeast competeing for the lead in aroma, with orange peel and spices in a back up role. Bready taste with some tartness. Very dry and refreshing. Another great one from Ommegang!

A nice thick, slow to subside, off-white head, a little lace, and a hazy yellow color. Aroma is yeast fruit, spice. Flavor loses the spice and there is a nice mild wheat flavor along with the fruit and carbonic tang & a hint of sweet. Very clean and refreshing. Nice brew.

Pale gold in color and completely opaque. It's like a neon yellow in the light; kinda weird. Pours with frothy white head that dissipates quickly to form a thin barrier on top. The bubbles seem like they want to stick to the glass, but the low viscosity of the beer pulls it down into the drink. I get pale malt up front with lemon and spiciness following in scent. I was expecting a bit more of a kick in a wit. I get a lot of pale malt on the tongue with nearly none of the wheat described on the glass. The citrus is undeniable, and a bit annoying after a while. I get mostly lemon, despite the claims of orange peel on the label. It stays on the front of the tongue, but some of the malt lingers with it in an attempt at balance. The light fruit flavor has some spiciness towards the end, but it's a bit muddled in the tang. The beer is easily drinkable and not very heavy which is nice, but not normal for the style.

Speaking towards my personal preference, I'm torn. On the one hand, I like that it isn't a normal wit in the sense that it is light. On the other hand, it's overly tangy. In the end, evil outweighs good and the tagniness is too overbearing. Get back to the chalkboard, Ommegang. I expect more of a Belgian owned company.

Appearance  This one is yellowish-orange in color and clean with a good, frothing head that left a pool on top of the liquid when it finally went down. The body is hazy and looks awesome.

Smell  The zesty orange peel led off this nose. I enjoyed the light lemony notes and the good, firm, wheaty yeast base. The spicing was light with the traditional coriander and white pepper most notable.

Taste  The nose came in perfectly at the taste. Everything that I smelled I could taste. I really liked the way all the flavors played together here.

Mouthfeel  The carbonation is strong but easy in the mouth. This Wit is light-bodied, of course, with everything coming together nicely.

Drinkability  This is my idea of the style standard. I really enjoyed sipping this one on an unusually warm Sunday September afternoon in Seattle.

It's light, very light with moderate carbonation. This makes it very drinkable. I finished half of a 750 bottle in just minutes. This surprised me because I was used to Ommegang's heavier beers. It felt a little too filter for my taste. Other wise this was a nice beer.

A: Pale straw yellow in color with a light haze. Initially pours with a 1/4" head that quickly reduces to a puffy layer of bubbles with great retention. Little lacing.

S: Light aromas of pale malt and very light hops; a slight citrus aroma is beneath.

T: Very light in malt flavor but quite balanced with hops that seem just as light. The overall taste is a bit dry but not terribly so. The finish is rather quick and clean with little to no linger. There is the slightest bit of a citrus tone but it is very faint.

M&D: There is no linger bitterness that I have observed in some other Witbiers that I have sampled. This one is smooth and clean, with a rather light carbonation. Although the mouthfeel is light, I can see this being an enjoyable session brew. Quite good overall.

Pours a hazy light yellow with a small bubbly white head on top. Aromas of pale wheat grain maltiness with a big blast of coriander, clove and orange zest. A tad peppery with an earthy yeast phenolic tone. Pretty nice.

First sip brings a crisp pale wheat husk maltiness with loads of coriander and fruity notes of orange & pepper. A hint of clove lingers underneath with a dash of lemon as well. A smooth, light, tasty brew. Refreshing.

Mouthfeel is light, spritzy and smooth. Slightly creamy. This one goes down easily and would make for a great summer beach brew. Bring a few 750's and enjoy the sun. Not my favorite from Ommegang, but a nice wit overall.

Kind of ho-hum. I've enjoyed other offerings from Ommegang much more. This was a cloudy yellow appearance with a small head and some lacing. It had an orange, spicy, grainy odor to it. The taste was pretty much orange and spice, fairly mild. It was OK, a little pedestrian. Not something I'd drink a lot of.

On tap at Grace in Philly.
Nice cloudy lemon yellow with a thick creamy white head that stayed on though the sipping later as a constant thin covering. Scents of bananas, lemony citrus, spicey and so fresh. Smooth and lightly creamy feeling with an almost medium body. Such good fresh tastes and aromas. Great easy drinker, good session, could sit back with tons of these on a warm evening.

Ommegangs Witte pours a bright hazy yellow color with a tall thick bright whight head. The head settles slowly and maintains and nice thin cap of foam which makes some slick lace on the glass. The aroma brings nice notes of light pale malts, fresh sourdough bread, Belgian yeast, spice and citrus. This moves right into the flavor which brings all of the aromas charater to the tongue. This flows on a nice smooth yet well carbonated medium body and finnishes balanced and refeshing.